Gold alloy



Patented Apr. 13, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS P. SI -IIELDS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO SHIELDS & MOORE, A FIRM CONSISTING OF THOMAS'P. SHIELDS AND G. A. MOORE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

' com) ALLOY.

. No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, THOMAS P. SHIELDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, N. Y.,,have invented certain new be economical to manufacture. In the pre-' ferred form of the'invention-the color of the so-called white gold has a somewhat bluish cast, the alloys produced in accordance with the present invention are very desirable for manufacturing jewelry and for similar uses,

although it will be understood that the al-.

10y when produced can be used as a substi wtute for pure gold in many other arts besides the manufacture of jewelry.

The fineness of the gold alloy can be varied considerably and for making ewelry,

I find it advisable to use an alloy of about 18 k. However, owing to the conditions in the jewelry trade, it is sometimes advisable 0 to produce alloy in accordance with the present invention ranging from about 17 to 19 k. In accordance with the present invention, Y the major constituent of the alloy is gold, 5 and for adjusting the degree of fineness of the alloy, copper can be added, in amount up to 10% and the addition of this amount of copper doesnot have any very marked influence upon the properties of the final alloy, such as the ease of working,hardness, etc.)

other than the fineness of the product.

For making a suitable alloy I may use parts of gold, 18 parts of iron,'7 parts of nickel, and part of manganese or silicongand may also use with the above as a diluent, from 5 to 10% of copper. These proportions are given by way of'example, and can be varied. quently be melted and gold or copper then added to adjust the fineness as desired. It is not necessary to add any other noble metals to the alloy.

Heretofore in the'manufacture ofwhite This base can subse Application filed May 1.5,'1924. Serial No. 713,617.

gold it has been proposed to use palladium or zinc, or both of these, it has also been proposed to use copper as a diluent, for reducing the fineness of the alloy. In accordance with the present invention I use iron istead of palladium, which subttitution I find to be entirely feasible and the substitution of iron greatly reduces the. cost of the final alloy. used in alloys of this general character, but zinc makes the alloy too hard and difiicult to work with ordinary tools, suchv as are used in the art, in working pure gold, or goldcopper alloy.

I have above referred to a specific formula, which has been found to-produce very satisfactory results. I will say, however, that the proportions can be substantially varied, thus the gold may be from 72 to 82%, the iron from 10 and 20%, the nickel between 5 and 20% and the manganeseor silicon between and 5%, of the total alloy. I

The function of the manganese or silicon is that of a deoxidizer, and it is to be noted that both of these elements form relatively stable oxide of the type A0,.

Whileof course ordinarily'iron would be used which is entirely free from rust, and all the metals substantially free from oxide, it is found advisable to use in all cases, a small amount of the deoxidizer, such as manganese or silicon, which elements unite with any oxide present in the iron, nickel or copper, and also they unite with an oxide or oxygen taken up by the constituents of the alloy during the making of the alloy.

I call attention to the fact that the alloy in its preferred form'does' not contain any other noble metals besides gold, thereby effecting a great saving in the production of white gold. Thus the alloy does not contain' palladium or other metals of that group, all of which are extremely expensive.

As a preferred mode of making the alloy, to which the invention is not restricted, the following is.given:--

are melted together, say in a crucible pro- Zinc has heretofore been The iron, nickel and manganese or silicon vided with a'cover, in the proportions of,

say 70 to 28 to 2. When a quiet molten liquid is produced, this can be granulated by being poured into cold water or it may be cast into an ingot and rolled out into a sheet, say 0.02 inch thick, and cut up into small pieces. The comminuted metal is' then mixed with metallic gold and copier and melted in a covered graphite cruci 1e, and then cast into ingots to be suitably worked up.

I claim over half the amount of nickel, and a still smaller amount of a deoxidizer, such deoxidizer being a solid element which readily forms.a solid oxid of the type A0 such alloy being of a whitish color, and such alloy being free from other noble metals.

2; An alloy containing not substantially below 70% of gold, much smaller butsubstantial proportions of both iron and of nickel, the two latter amounting to not less than 15% of the alloy, and the iron being over half the amount of nickel, and a still smaller amount of a deoxidizer, such de-' oxidizer being a solid element which readily forms a solid. oxid of the type A0 such alloy being of a whitish color, such alloy also containing copper in substantial amount but not above 10%.

3. An alloy having substantially the following analysis:

. Parts. Gold 72 to 82 Iron 10 to 20 Nickel 5 'to 20 Deoxidizer in the form of a solid element that readily forms a solid oxid of the type AO' 0.5 to 5 40 Copper In appreciablea'mount up to 10 4. An alloy having the following analysis:

I Parts. Gold 75 Iron l8 Nickel about 7*" Deoxidizer in theviform of a solid ele-' ment that-readily forms a solid oxid' 5. An alloy havingsubstantially the following analysis: y

- ,Parts.

Gold 72 to 82 Iron 10 to 20 Nickel 5 'to 20' Deoxidizer in the form of a solid element that readily forms a 1 solid oxid of the type AO 0,5- to 5' In testimony whereof I aflix my signature. v i

V THOMAS P. SHIELDS. 

